Lis Respirant
by The Lady Morgainne
Summary: Snape has a potion. Things aren't working out. If only he had a little inspiration...


**Lis****Respirant**

_A/N: I know that there has been whole rash of Lily-__Snape__fics__ since that rather brilliant chapter in the seventh book – I will admit it I cried the whole time. This is something that I dreamed up one afternoon and thought was a rather nice moment. _

Severus's favorite potion was the _Lis__Respirant_. He gave the dark blue concoction in his cauldron one final stir, before gently sliding his stirring rod out and delicately placing it on the table. Snape was another person when he was in front of a potion, nothing mattered, not Potter, not Lucius. Everything was fine, in the true sense of the word, when a potion was before Severus Snape. Delicately he picked up the last ingredient on the table beside him. It was a lily in full bloom. It was an ingredient that had never ceased to amaze Severus. To muggles, it was a common plant, but to wizards, it was one of the most powerful potion ingredients to date. With loving tenderness, Severus placed the flower on the potion and watched it slowly and gracefully sink down into the liquid. The potion blossomed into a pale blue, the color of the morning sky, and Severus smiled. It was not the smirk that he wore in public to denote his amusement, but a genuine smile of pleasure and accomplishment. It had taken him nearly two months to complete this potion.

It was a suggestion of hers that had finally led him down the right path. A few weeks back, frustrated and desperately grasping for options, Severus had sat in the Potions room, his cauldron beside him, a brilliant silky silver liquid roiling about in it. In an uncharacteristic display of anger, Severus slammed his fist on the table holding his ingredients upsetting the delicately placed piles. A flicker of blue robes flashed in the corner of his downcast eyes, someone stopping suddenly just out of his eye sight. Severus stayed immobile for a moment, every muscle clenched, his stringy black hair falling down over his face. Slowly drawing in a silent breath, Severus looked up and met her startled. She stood there like a deer in the head lights, her red hair curling thickly down her back, starkly contrasting the bright blue robes. Idly, the thought crossed Severus' mind that she should have been in Ravenclaw. Then, maybe dealing with her wouldn't be so hard.

"I'm sorry, Severus," she finally broke the silence with her soft voice that never seemed to rise above a gentle tone even when she was yelling. "I didn't know that you were busy. I can work on my potion some other time…"

Severus could tell that she was about to leave; she had already started to move her foot back. Over their seven years at Hogwarts, after seven years of making potion side by side in their extra time, she knew when Severus was not fit to be in anyone's company.

"Stay. I'll most likely be sitting here staring at my cauldron for another two hours. I don't see how you could disturb that," he remarked on an impulse as she had almost reached the door. The trademark Severus sarcasm was in the tone, but it lacked its normal vicious bite. He stared moodily at the silver liquid. Placing his stirring rod in the goop, Severus pulled the stick back out and watched as the potion stuck to the stick for a long time and then plopped back into the potion. Stick. Stretch. Plop. Repeat.

"Er…what are you working on?" she asked, a dubious manner to her question. She stood behind and a little to the right of Severus, bending down so she was level with Severus. They watched the goop plop a few more times before Severus spoke.

"I don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"What this is?"

"I'm not sure that any one does. Do you know what it's supposed to be?"

"Not really."

"Fabulous. I can tell that you're almost there or my name isn't Lily Evans."

Severus whipped around until he was face to face with Lily. It all clicked in to place. That was it exactly. Severus had turned to expound on Lily's brilliantness, but stopped short when he realized how close their faces were. Lily hadn't expected him to move around so quickly, and before her reflexes could make her react, she had been caught in the same confused paralysis that Severus had. Severus did not blink, but he could see Lily's eyes, almost out of focus, blink rapidly several times. Then slowly they closed and Severus could feel her lean the slightest fraction forward, and then she stopped. Lily was so close now that Severus could feel her breath on his cheek. Later, Severus recognized that it was only because he finally knew what ingredient he needed to make his potion that he did something so uncharacteristically bold. He would also recognize that it was the best decision he had ever made. Severus moved the remaining inches with lightening speed and pressed his lips to Lily's. He half expected her to move away in shock and overly apparent disgust, but it did not happen. Instead, her lips, at first stiff, softened and parted softly, leaning into the gentle kiss.

The ingredient that Severus needed was lilies, pure white, dazzling lilies.


End file.
